Wintertime Non-Quilting

I have been lazy about taking pictures and updating the blog because I did a lot of bigger quilts last year and they were too large to photograph without a sidekick, a truck (for the sidekick to stand in so the quilts didn't drag on the ground), and a long 1x2 board (to run through the hanging sleeve of the quilts so they hang evenly). And now they feel like I finished them months ago (because I did) and are old news. In fact, I gave most of them away for Christmas.



This block pattern came out of one of the Nickel quilts books--I started the blocks while in Atlanta during Hurricane Hermine.



This is a Kathy Doughty pattern.



And a detail, because it turned out awesome.



This set of blocks from a Bonnie Hunter pattern made two quilts that look different because I changed the sashing and the setting.



I did a mad dash of machine quilting and hand-binding to get several quilts done before Christmas, and I have basically done nothing since, for over a month. I've been doing a lot of reading and watching movies, but I have effectively zero quilt momentum. I spent time over the weekend looking at quilting books, and now I have at least three projects I definitely want to start on, and I have stacks of fabric in my studio (there, I just upgraded my sewing room, ha!), but I haven't even turned on the iron.



I took a class in Seminole-style patchwork last fall, and got inspired by using solids (I mixed in a few dresden plate blocks as leader/enders). Seeing what happens when cultures blend is always intriguing.



I also joined a modern quilt sit and stitch, so I've been looking at books on modern quilting. I've used prints so much, it will be interesting to try using only solids. Of course, I am plotting out ways to change the patterns I see to make them my own. I want to try exploring minimalism and negative space in upcoming projects.